If you’re reading this blog post, congrats you’ve made it through babyhood!

They say that Parenthood is the scariest hood you’ll ever experience, but one of the areas surrounding parenting and sleep that can be fun for ALL involved is upgrading your toddler to a big kid bed; but where to start? When should you transition your busy baby into a bigger bed without any problems? What size bed and mattress should you buy for them? In this article, I’ll be breaking down exactly how to upgrade your toddler to a big kid bed seamlessly and easily!

WHEN TO TRANSITION YOUR TODDLER TO A BIG KID BED?

The easiest and best recommended age at a minimum to transfer your toddler to a big kid bed is 2.5 years old. I like to joke that you should keep a child in a crib until they are 18! This is not only for cognitive understanding of sleep boundaries and rules, but for safety reasons. If your child suddenly has free reign of his or her room, possibly the whole house, what kind of trouble could they potentially get themselves into while you’re fast asleep? Unfortunately some parents will find themselves needing to transition earlier due to a child climbing out, which can also cause another slew of issues, including visiting the parents at night multiple times, playing in the house/room when they should be sleeping, insomnia, fussiness, and more. If your toddler is over 2.5 years AT LEAST (I moved my children out at 3.5 years old!), and you’re ready to make the transition but not ready to deal with any potential problems mentioned above, download my Surviving the Transition to the Toddler Bed guide by clicking here.

WHAT SIZE BED TO BUY FOR THE TODDLER BED TRANSITION?

If your crib converts to a toddler bed, or has side rails, start there. Once the crib sides are taken down, a child can feel like a small person in a much larger space, potentially causing some new fears. If you’re ready to buy a new bed, start with a twin bed to begin, unless you have a toddler that is a VERY busy sleeper (one that turns different directions all night). In that case, try looking into a full size bed instead, and push one side of the bed completely up against the wall to prevent your toddler from rolling out of bed, or install a bed rail. Take your toddler shopping for new bed linens and have them pick out a new set, and talk to them about the upcoming changes as well. We bought my daughter this Jenny Lind bed in a twin size seen above, at a great price!

MATTRESS SHOULD YOU BUY YOUR TODDLER?

I highly, highly recommend a eco-friendly mattress like the one from Purple Mattress. The uncomfortable spring loaded mattresses we grew up on as kids are full of toxins that are literally centimeters away from our children for nearly 11-14 hours PER DAY, which is why you absolutely have to be smart when it comes to upgrading. Made in the USA, the original twin size Purple Mattress is hypoallergenic, non-toxic, and extremely durable. Delivered right to your front door in a conveniently sized box, the mattress self-grows once removed from the packaging. The end result= easy setup, no mess, and the softness/firmness is JUST RIGHT for a child after they have been sleeping on a firm crib mattress.

The Top Three Reasons Why We Chose The Original Purple Mattress for our Children:

1. Stays perfectly cool. My children tend to run “Hot” at night, even with the air conditioning. This causes them to experience random night wakings, wake up drenched in sweat, and be overall cranky the following day due to missing out on a good night’s rest. With a temperature-neutral grid design within the Purple mattress, this allows body heat to disperse and allow airflow so my children are no longer waking up overheated or in a bad mood from tossing and turning at night.

2. Prevents Motion Transfer. With the patented technology of this mattress, my son is no longer disturbed or woke up when the dog (or baby sister!) decides to join him in the middle of the night. The design of the mattress reduces motion transfer so my toddler can get a full night’s sleep in their big-kid bed.

3. It’s insanely soft comfortable and I want to steal it from my toddler. Really! I have often struggled with upper back and neck pain from all these years of carrying my children around, so when I join my toddler at bedtime for story time, the mattress adapts to my body and instantly relieves pressure.

This post was sponsored by Purple Mattress. All thoughts, reviews and opinions are my own.